I find my GLE 350 to be a very capable tow vehicle and has been a much more appealing vehicle than a huge truck my wife really doesn't want to drive. The 4matic versions have the higher tow ratings so checking an owner's manual (handy to do when manuals are online) will confirm what tongue weights and tow limits each model has. I'm not a fan of the price points of scheduled maintenance and may rethink Lexus when it's time for a newer vehicle either due to age or wanting to increase the torque and horsepower while improving overall mpg while both towing and not towing.

I will say that I like features such as the HK stereo and Apple Carplay that older models don't necessarily have. Having an iPhone with the Apple Carplay means I always have up-to-date navigation available along with making hands-free calls. We even use the Apple Carplay when my wife calls me and I can have hands-free conversations backing up the camper!
The E2 weight distribution hitch is impressive and there are models to fit any camper (travel trailer). The one pictured with this topic fits my camper weight range and there are square bar models that increase the sway control ability while being able to leave it connected backing up. I saw a camper this past weekend with a chain weight distribution hitch that had to disconnect the chains before backing up- too much of a hassle and it's really old-school technology. There are plenty of You Tube videos to see and compare weight distribution hitches as well.

For camper choices, it's all about construction and floor plans factoring in the price a person wants to pay. There will be growing pains with things breaking or malfunctioning that likely will have to be addressed for any brand, so I'd say pick one that best meets the needs and go for it. I believe there's a lot to be said for staying well under max weight ratings though.

Max tow weight of a vehicle actually does include passengers and all cargo added to the tow vehicle and camper (from what I can see a full fuel tank is included in the curb weight, but is otherwise a variable if not). We added up weights of everything we ordered for the camper and factored that in to our tow weight our GLE was handling. All campers have a sticker that gives the weight, as delivered, that may differ from brochures. Our camper, for example, came in at 5006 pounds and can carry somewhere around 2300 pounds of cargo. We know we can't go to that limit because it would exceed our total tow rating of 7200 pounds when factoring in what we would load in the GLE350 plus the weight of all occupants. Right now the chocks, cables, grill, tools, and other supplies add up to around 300 pounds so for now I'm happy staying well under the max tow rating as gas mileage drops to around 10mpg as it seems to average out to with those towing with gas or diesel trucks. Locally, I've also been going with a 50-50 E85 and premium that drops my mileage down to 8 mpg when city towing. If going to more remote areas of the U.S. where gas stations are further apart I'll likely stay with all premium, but the cost of E85 presently far offsets the drop in mileage so I'm more than willing to accept gassing up more often.

As pictured, I'm both amazed and impressed to own and tow this camper with something other than a huge pickup truck. I've had several comments that said they wished they could tow with a setup like we have. In a sea of trucks, a Mercedes SUV certainly does stand out!

Lastly, I like the Tekonsha Prodigy P3 electric brake controller both for the diagnostics feature it has and that it displays voltage being applied and not just a random number that equates to how much voltage is applied to the trailer brakes. Tekonsha also is the brand that has a harness that plugs into the factory Mercedes harness for factory hitch vehicles making the whole setup truly plug-and-play.
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John - thank you for everything about. Very refreshing. I also appreciate the added insight on the Tekonsha Prodigy P3 brake controller... Looking forward to seeing more of your trailering adventures posted here.

 

@Vince_23Bravo Thread on P3 install and use. https://mbworld.org/forums/gle-class...oller-fyi.html

 

Perfect, thank you, Kein Ersatz

 

John, Good discussion. I have a 2020 GLE350 bought in November just for the tow rating. I haven’t towed yet, but I just installed the Tekonsha P3. It lights up, so I hope I’m good to go soon. My question to you is about the 12 V “charging” pin on the hitch connector. The owner’s manual warns against using car electrical system to charge a trailer battery. That pin shows as dead with a tester. You indicated in your posts that all the pins are computer controlled, probably why there is no voltage in testing. The dealer said that MB doesn’t power that pin and that a new wire needs to be run from the battery. I suspect that he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Do you know if there is any condition where the computer control would power that pin? Do you have any other suggestions for a work around. Having the GLE charge the trailer battery is not essential, but it would be nice to have that function that’s standard on lesser vehicles.

thanks, Jack

 

On my '17 AMG GLE 43 with factory hitch, the 12v hitch plug source "charges" the electric brake "disconnect" battery when the trailer is connected/plugged in. I did not run a separate 12v source to the hitch.

 

Afternoon all. Just a quick question that I am not finding the answer to in all the replies in this thread. We have a 2017 GLE63S. It came with a factory equiped hitch. But I cant seem to find a tow setting for driveability. There is CUSTOM, COMFORT, SPORT, SPORT+, SNOW. What setting and how do you engage towing?

Thanks......

 

There is no "tow" setting, but the SUV does detect when the plug is activated and turns off distance sensors (and warns you about that on the dash message readout - that you have to acknowledge OK). I seem to recall there may also be a stability control (optional) change when a trailer is "sensed".

What I do with the performance "knob" is use a programed CUSTOM setting that stiffens up the suspension, but leaves the engine and trans in comfort mode. You need to program that option mode once and store it.

 

It will hold rpms longer too when you pull...

Btw the AMG's make great tow vehicles, plenty of torque to pull and the stiff suspension is a bonus as well... Here is my old '12 ml63 pulling 7k lbs of boat...



Easily cruised at 70 on the highway with it...

 

The 12-volt pin does supply power, but the battery is charged through the camper. The output is constant which must be a standard where the other pins are pulse-width-modulated. It was interesting to see the dealer's oscilloscope printout showing that. My dealer's lead tech made an old-school tester because conventional ones do not have enough of a draw to work properly. My battery on the camper stays charged so long as the camper is plugged into the connector and the car is running.

 

Right, and for those with trailers that have an electrical system beyond brake and running lights/turn signals, whatever utilizes 12-volt power will operate when the vehicle is running to supply power to the connector.

 

I have experimented with settings, and I have changed the Custom to be engine-comfort mode and (for mine without AirMatic suspension) steering-sport.
I have found that this is the best handling when crosswinds push the camper around. The steering feels less soft and squirrelly requiring less effort to track straight pulling a 5250 pound (loaded) camper.

 

John, Thanks for the info. I look forward to getting the camping trailer out of winter storage and trying the GLE.

 

Hello and thanks to everyone for the great info so far. Recently purchased a 2016 GLE 300d that did not have the tow package installed from dealer. I was looking at having a hitch added and was looking at both the MB one as well as the Stealth Hitch. Right now nothing major to tow - jet ski or other loads being well under the weight limit. Maybe a uhaul trailer now and then and some light equipment. I was leaning towards the stealth hitch because I like the looks it offers but reading here I'm wondering if I would be leaving options off of the table in the future if we had a larger trailer to tow? By going with a stealth hitch over OE would I not get the advantages that are talked about in this thread for cross control and such or is the wiring what's important for that and it would still work even though the hitch is different? Hope this question makes sense and thanks for any help in advance.

 

I do not know what the tow limits are on the 2016 GLE 300d but I would recommend getting a tow hitch that can handle at least the GLE's limits. You would not want to look back in a year or two and wish you had a higher capacity hitch.

 

Brer_Rabbit, Thank you for your reply. The stealth hitch actually exceeds what the GLE is capable of. For weight the car would be the restricting factor. I am mainly curious to know if I would be losing any options by going with the stealth hitch vs. the OE MB one.

 

There's nothing that can compare to having a factory hitch installed, but to do basic towing like you are talking about shouldn't be a problem. I've seen YouTube installation videos done by people and while involved to access wiring connections, it is possible. WWW.etrailer.com is a good source too. I got my electric brake controller pigtail connection from them.

The trick, unless considering doing it yourself, would be to find someone willing to work with a Mercedes. A few local shops told me due to the way Mercedes wires their vehicles and the CANBUS system used, they won't touch them. In my case I needed to use an electric brake controller so perhaps just a hitch install would have been possible.
Good luck!

 

Heh - yeah it's pretty extensive to install them. I looked at the instructions for installing the stealth hitch thinking it couldn't be that difficult and I would do it with my friend who is an engineer. After going through the instructions, I'm paying someone to do it properly. I want the electrical hooked up but have also seen some kits that are plug-n-play for tying in the 7 pin connector instead of cutting and splicing/crimping lines yourself. I guess my question is if I can get the stealth hitch installed and wired correctly, do I get all of the MB towing safety features or do I need the MB hitch for that? I don't have a need for heavier towing now, but it's not out of the question for the nearish future.

 

Hello GLE John, Nicest images out there for this application. Do you know what is the coupler height for your GLE (2016?) from ground to top of OEM hitch receiver? Im doing some estimates for a trailer on a GLE i cant see.

thanks Carl

 

Carl,
My 2020 GLE with factory tow package measures 15 1/2 inches from the ground to the top of the receiver. Sorry for the grungy appearance. I am using an older WD hitch. Since this picture, I retrieved my travel trailer from winter storage. I had to change the WD set up to raise the hitch for the trailer to be level. Returning from storage was my first tow with this SUV and it was relatively short. My trailer weighs about 4700 pounds and I was very pleased with the performance. I’ll post a more complete review when I get more experience. Good luck.

 

Nice looking rig. This looks like my tow ball too. Many thanks for fast response appreciate it. Carl

 

I'm catching up on posts today!

I'm at 15 1/2' too from the ground to the top inside of the receiver. I don't have airmatic and based on our camper and needed weight distribution I have a riser shank that puts the top of the hitch ball higher than that, but with an unloaded car now I'd expect that. Originally, the camper dealer adjust the WD hitch for an unloaded car and camper which put me too low when loaded so I'd really recommend loading the back of the car and what your towing just how you would on a trip to get set up properly the first time.

 

I’m getting ready for my first camping opus with my 2020 GLE 350. As expected, the side mirror views are mostly blocked by the trailer. Does anyone know of extension trailer mirrors that will fit the GLE? Thanks

 

Check out Dometic Milenco Aero3 mirrors that come in a few different models. I came across a camper on our first camping trip of the year at a local county park opened up. He had them on a Toyota SUV and liked them. I was invited over the this guy's site where he put his mirror on my car to try one out. It's the first one I've gotten to fit on the Mercedes mirrors after ordering and trying out several strap-on ones where nothing looked like they would stay on.
It installed on the top lip of the mirror. I would turn off the folding mirror function to avoid any issues when the mirrors are on though. I'll be order something soon to test them out.

 

GLE John,

did you ever get any resolution on this? I just purchased a Forest River Ozark and Furrion camera, and as you say, it works as long as it is powered direct by 12 volts and on other vehicles. Problem occurs when connected to the 7-way connector and the camera stops working. Did MB ever provide a solution to this? I’m looking at a having to tap a 12v line directly and bypassing the pre-wiring on the Ozark to get it the power to work. BTW I’m using a Curt Echo Brake controller with Bluetooth and a Fastway e2 sway control weight distribution hitch if anyone else is interested. So far everything works well, other than the camera issue with the 7-way connector. The RV dealer could not figure this out either. Also note that they were also hesitant about having to touch any of the MB electrical systems which is why I ended up with the Echo Curt which just plugs into the 7 way and sits between the MB and the trailer 7-way.